The discovery of the oldest and most distant black hole ever detected has provided a team of astronomers new insights into our universe, writes Alyssa Meyers for The Boston Globe. “In some sense, what we’ve done is determine with a high degree of accuracy when the first stars in the universe turned on,” explains Prof. Robert Simcoe.
The discovery of the oldest and most distant black hole ever observed could provide scientists with insights into the early stages of our universe, reports Will Dunham for Reuters. “This object provides us with a measurement of the time at which the universe first became illuminated with starlight,” explains Prof. Robert Simcoe.
NPR’s Nell Greenfieldboyce reports that scientists have discovered the most distant supermassive black hole every discovered, and that the findings are shedding light on when starlight first appeared in our universe. "We have an estimate now, with about 1 to 2 percent accuracy, for the moment at which starlight first illuminated the universe,” explains Prof. Robert Simcoe.
USA Today reporter Doyle Rice writes that a team of astronomers, including several from MIT, has discovered the oldest and most distant supermassive black hole ever detected. “The black hole resides in a quasar and its light reaches us from when the universe was only 5% of its current age — over 13 billion years ago,” explains Rice.
Prof. Nergis Mavalvala speaks with Massive reporter Prabarna Ganguly about her work engineering high-precision laser beams to detect signals from deep space, the long hunt for gravitational waves and her hopes for future generations of scientists. Ganguly writes that Mavalvala is, “one of the stalwarts in a long, arduous, and deeply human discovery of faraway perturbations rippling through the universe.”
Los Angeles Times reporter Amina Khan writes that researchers from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration have identified gravitational waves emitted from the smallest black hole they have detected. “Its mass makes it very interesting,” explains Prof. Salvatore Vitale. The discovery, he adds, “really starts populating more of this low-mass region that [until now] was quite empty.”
WBUR’s Bruce Gellerman profiles Nobel laureate Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss, noting that his “stories of accomplishments and failure are legendary at MIT.” Prof. Peter Fisher, head of the Physics Department, says that Weiss, "is a tremendously intelligent man, but he’s got more perseverance, I think, than anyone else.”
Boston Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz spotlights the work of Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss, who was named one of the recipients of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for the “decades of determination” he invested in detecting gravitational waves. Moskowitz writes that Weiss is still, “as energized as ever by the thrill of scientific discovery.”
Prof. David Kaiser writes for The New York Times that the LIGO Scientific Collaboration’s successful detections of gravitational waves, for which Prof. Rainer Weiss was awarded a Nobel Prize, underscores the importance of basic scientific research. “By building machines of exquisite sensitivity and training cadres of smart, dedicated young scientists and engineers, we can test our fundamental understanding of nature to unprecedented accuracy.”
Forbes reporter Ethan Siegel writes about how Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss and two of his colleagues were awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for their work detecting gravitational waves, “the culmination of theoretical and experimental work dating all the way back to Einstein.” Siegel adds that the detection of gravitational waves, “has transformed our idea of what's possible in astronomy.”
CBS Boston reports on Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss winning the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work detecting gravitational waves. “It’s quite awe-inspiring to think that somehow the three of us got mixed up with a prize that was won by the giants of this science,” said Weiss of his emotions upon winning the award. “It’s amazing.”
Guardian reporter Hannah Devlin writes that this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss. Weiss said the successful detection of gravitational waves was the culmination of “40 years of people thinking about this, trying to make detections, sometimes failing … and then slowly but surely getting the technology together to be able do it.”
Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss has won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work developing a device that detects gravitational waves, reports the AP. Weiss said that he views the prize as recognition for the entire LIGO team, and “more as a thing that recognizes the work of a thousand people."
Boston Globe reporters Sean Smyth, John Ellement and Eric Moskowitz report that Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss was honored with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics. Weiss explained that LIGO has helped change, “the way you look at the way you fit into the universe. It makes you understand what’s going on all around us in the vastness of the universe.”
Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss has been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work successfully detecting gravitational waves, reports Dennis Overbye for The New York Times. Weiss explained that thanks to LIGO, which is helping usher in a new era of astronomy, “many of us really expect to learn about things we didn’t know about.”